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nishidake's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Cursing, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Violence, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Vomit, Cannibalism, Dysphoria, Death, and War
molls's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
3.5
I enjoyed the bulk of this book. The chapters are short and readable with a pretty quick pace. The concept of the Jackpot is scarily plausible and the timeline still feels believable 9 years after the book was published. The tech is cool and enough of the characters are interesting.
There are many scifi books written by men that get gross about women's bodies, either in service to the "women's sexual degradation as evidence of society's immorality/decline" trope or just to be lurid. Gibson could've very easily gotten gross here or subjected Flynne to some serious abuse but for the most part he didn't, and his female identifying characters weren't any more or less developed than the others.
Unfortunately the situation that draws Flynne and all of the over characters into the action is confusing and not very well resolved. The big bad was underdeveloped as a character. I still don't totally understand the icky plastic life forms that appear in the first scene and one other with Wilf. The TV show does a much better job of creating an inciting incident for the escalation of stakes that follows. Having watched the Amazon adaptation first helped me connect to the characters, visualize the settings, and get past the bizarre and somewhat confusing opening scene of the book.
There are many scifi books written by men that get gross about women's bodies, either in service to the "women's sexual degradation as evidence of society's immorality/decline" trope or just to be lurid. Gibson could've very easily gotten gross here or subjected Flynne to some serious abuse but for the most part he didn't, and his female identifying characters weren't any more or less developed than the others.
Unfortunately the situation that draws Flynne and all of the over characters into the action is confusing and not very well resolved. The big bad was underdeveloped as a character. I still don't totally understand the icky plastic life forms that appear in the first scene and one other with Wilf. The TV show does a much better job of creating an inciting incident for the escalation of stakes that follows. Having watched the Amazon adaptation first helped me connect to the characters, visualize the settings, and get past the bizarre and somewhat confusing opening scene of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Murder, Torture, and War
elenahitomi's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
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